The Upside- Virginia

[SWC75]

- We weren’t going to beat this Virginia team at Virginia with one of our key players injured. Art that we did pretty well. We led at the half and the game was tied with 11:20 left. Our point guard got in foul trouble and they started throwing in threes, (the last by a walk-on from 25 feet). It just wasn’t going to be our night.


- We won’t be raising any banner saying that we were ACC regular season champions, (or “#1 in the standings”) this year. Now we can settle down an concentrate on getting healthy and getting better so we can have a post season run like last year- when things looked dismal after a last season 19 point loss at Georgetown, a team we defeated in the BET a week later and wound up in the Final Four. Offense was the problem then, too.


- There were flashes of good things in this game, (gee, I sound like G-Rob). I thought it was Trevor Cooney’s best game in a while with three treys and several good drives to the basket.


- Rakeem Chrsitmas had his best game in a while with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.


- Mike Gbinije had a strong first half, scoring a couple of baskets, including a three that was big at the time.


- Tyler Roberson looked good making a couple of baskets down the stretch. It was his first two basket game since Eastern Michigan.


- We may not have been a 25-0 team but we aren’t a 1-3 either. We’ll get healthy again. There’s won be any more road games against really strong teams. And spring is right around the corner.


26-3, (13-3), with 3+ to go


Let’s Go Orange!

 

[orangeinohio]

Rakeem had what seemed to be a very quiet 8 points. I had no idea until I saw the box score that he had 8.

 

[Madbiker]

Not to rain on the optimism but Cooney was 3-10 from behind the line, CJ Fair was 0-5. Our 3 pt shooting continues to be extremely poor which is a primary reason the paint is so congested. Outside of CJ forcing contested jumpers and Ennis trying to get into the lane for floaters, there's little other offense. Gbinije had 5 points and 1 rebound in 30 minutes of PT. Roberson had 5 points and 1 rebound in 3 minutes of PT.

 

[SarasotaPaul]

Not to rain on the optimism but Cooney was 3-10 from behind the line, CJ Fair was 0-5. Our 3 pt shooting continues to be extremely poor which is a primary reason the paint is so congested. Outside of CJ forcing contested jumpers and Ennis trying to get into the lane for floaters, there's little other offense. Gbinije had 5 points and 1 rebound in 30 minutes of PT. Roberson had 5 points and 1 rebound in 3 minutes of PT.

I had 4 points in one minute one time coming off the bench. That makes me better than either of these guys! :bat:

 

[Conrad13]

Thanks. This is exactly the kind of thing that I needed to read.

Our lack of outside shooting and poor interior passing (the two are certainly related) really troubled me tonight. The only guy I expect to make threes when he takes them is Cooney and it's too easy for teams to key in on him and clog up the lane.

Almost every single Syracuse team I can remember has had a late season swoon and some of them have done pretty darn well at the tournament. I may just need to reread SWC75's post a few times to get me through the next few days.

 

[SWC75]

Thanks. This is exactly the kind of thing that I needed to read.

Our lack of outside shooting and poor interior passing (the two are certainly related) really troubled me tonight. The only guy I expect to make threes when he takes them is Cooney and it's too easy for teams to key in on him and clog up the lane.

Almost every single Syracuse team I can remember has had a late season swoon and some of them have done pretty darn well at the tournament. I may just need to reread SWC75's post a few times to get me through the next few days.

There's always and upside...and a downside. You just have to look for them.

 

[RICuse44]

Great perspective SWC. Sometimes you go on this board and I feel like I am back in the dome in section 211 listening to the guy next to me scream at Jerami Grant during the Duke game for not getting all of the rebounds.

 

[MCC]

There's always and upside...and a downside. You just have to look for them.

If we win the NCAA 'ship I'll challenge you to come up with a truly material downside

 

[SWC75]

If we win the NCAA 'ship I'll challenge you to come up with a truly material downside

That will be an interesting challenge. Here's what i came up with last time:

- That Dave Bing, Richie Cornwall, Vaughn Harper, Rick Dean, George Hicker, Bill Smith, Kid Kohls, Mark Wadach, the Lee brothers, “Sweet D”, Rudy Hackett, Bug Williams, the original “Shack”, Marty Byrnes, Louie and Bouie, Danny Schayes, the Tricaptians, Sean Kerins, Pearl and the “A” Team, Ronnie, Greg Monroe, Howie Triche, “The General”, DC, Stevie and Billy, Dave Johnson, McNasty, Poetry in Moten, JDub, Otis Hill, Todd Burgen, Jay Hart, Etan, Blackwell and Shump were not on this team.


But then, they were. For without them and what they and the rest contributed to this program, this could never have happened.